Thanks for response The camcorder is a Sony digital 8 and the laptop is a Toshiba L305 .When i hook up the camera it asks for type etc and only shows webcam I am not computer literate so dont know where to go from here

Thanks for response The camcorder is a Sony digital 8 and the laptop is a Toshiba L305 .When i hook up the camera it asks for type etc and only shows webcam I am not computer literate so dont know where to go from here

You connected it via a USB cable, and that isn't going to work, unless you use the Roxio USB capture device.

Does your video camera have a firewire output port? If so, you need to get a firewire to connect the video camera to your laptop, if the laptop has a firewire port.

What is the model of your Sony Digital 8 camcorder, or is that the actual model name?

I have teh Sony TRV740 digital 8mm. Here is a pic of the firewire port. Sony calls it iLink (small one left in pic). The one on the laptop will look the same so you will need a 4 pin to 4pin firewire cable.